Head having two degrees of randomly selected movement



July 22, 1969 3,456,950

HEAD HAVING TWO DEGREES OF RANDOMLY SELECTED MOVEMENT Filed Aug. 24,1967 A. E. GOLDFARB 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 4- 346 INVENTOR. I fdDOLP/l EDDY60L DFARB MG'M July 22, 1969 A. E. GOLDFARB 3,456,950

HEAD HAVING TWO DEGREES OF RANDOMLY SELECTED MOVEMENT Filed Aug. 24,1967 s Sheets-Shee 2 I N VEN TOR. 1001 PH 500 V GOL DFARB mung/BambiJTTOH/VEVS July 22, 1969 A. E. GOLDFARB 3,456,950

HEAD HAVING TWO DEGREES OF RANDOMLY SELECTED MOVEMENT Filed Aug. 24,I96? 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 J i INVENTOR.

II|||I 4 4 4004 007 6010/7495 BY t" fig m m AUTOR/VA'KS United StatesPatent 3,456,950 HEAD HAVING TWG DEGREES 0F RANDOMLY SELECTED MUVEMENTAdolph Eddy Goldfarb, 7427 Verna Ave., North Hollywood, Calif. 91tl5Filed Aug. 24, 1967, Ser. No. 663,027 Int. Cl. A63f 9/18, 1/00, 3/00 US.Cl. 273-161 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present inventionrelates to toys, and more particularly to a movable head having yes andno responsive head movements which are randomly produced.

The significant play value of the movable head hereof is attributable totwo features. The first is the basic concept of the functioning of theproduct wherein it has yes and no responsive movements and can thus beused either alone as a fortune telling-type device or in conjunctionwith the playing of different types of childrens games in which yes andno decisions are made. The second is the random nature in which thesehead movements are produced. Obviously, the play value is considerablylessened if one movement is produced much more frequently than theother. The random functioning of a toy of the nature involved herein istherefore always a desirable feature, but it is also a feature which itis not easy to provide with uncomplicated, mass produced parts that mustbe easily assembled and not render the cost of the toy productprohibitive.

Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a randomlyfunctioning movable head which is economically mass produced and whichmaintains its ability to function randomly over prolonged periods ofuse. Specifically, it is an object to provide a selector for a yes andno movable head which has a simple, reliable mode of operation forrandomly selecting one of the two possible head movements.

A movable head demonstrating objects and advantages of the presentinvention includes a dolls head having a horizontal axis and alongitudinal axis and mounting means permitting nodding and turningmovements respectively about each axis to signify yes and no" answers.Also included are first and second actuating members operativelyarranged to provide these head movements, these members being located onopposite sides of a dividing wall. A vibrating selector is urged throughan actuating stroke during which it is set in vibration as it approachesthe dividing wall and is thus in a vibrated position either on one sideor the other of this wall. This, in turn, results in correspondingactuation of either the first or the second actuating member based onthe randomly occurring vibrated position of the selector.

The above brief description, as well as further objects, features andadvantages of the present invention, will be more fully appreciated byreference to the following detailed description of a presentlypreferred, but nonetheless illustrative, embodiment in accordance withthe present invention, when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Patented July 22, 1969 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a movable dollshead demonstrating objects and advantages of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevational view on an enlarged scale, taken insection on line 22 of FIG. 1 illustrating internal structural featuresof the device;

FIG. 3 is a plan view in section taken on line 33 of FIG. 2 illustratingfurther internal features;

FIG. 4 is a partial front elevational view in section taken on line 4-4of FIG. 2, best illustrating details of the pivotal mounting for thedolls head;

FIG. 5 is a plan view in section taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 2 bestillustrating the rotative mounting for the dolls head; and

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view similar to FIG. 5 showing the partsthereof after a rotative movement, the moving element being shown inphantom perspective.

Reference is now made to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1illustrating a dolls head, generally designated 10, movably mounted on asupporting housing 12 for a purpose which will soon be obvious. Moreparticularly, the mounting of the dolls head 10 on the housing 12 issuch that the head has a pivotal or nodding degree of movement in thedirection A about a horizontal axis such as would signify an affirmativeor yes response of the head. The mounting also permits a rotative degreeof movement about a longitudinal axis of the head such as would signifya negative or no response of the head. One or the other of theseresponsive head movements are caused incident to inserting a card Cthrough a front opening or slot 12a into the housing 12. It is intendedthat the card C have a printed question thereon requiring either a yesor no answer and that this answer be provided by the responsive movementof the head 10. To this end, and as will be explained in greater detailherein, the selection of one or the other head movements A, B isproduced on a random basis. Thus the movable dolls head is a devicehaving considerable play value used alone or in conjunction with theplaying of one or many different types of childrens games.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a depending neck portion 10a of thedolls head 10 extends into a cylindrical housing opening 12b. Housing 12also has a bottom opening closed by a bottom member or base 14 whichsnaps into place within the opening 120, the base 14 having lateralprojections 14a along its front and rear edges for this purpose (onlythe front projection 14a being shown in FIG. 1) which are accommodatedin suitable cut-outs 12d and which snap over a lower housing wall 122.Appropriately secured to the base 14 within the housing 12 is aninternal housing member 16 having a raised medial portion 16a which, inturn, has a hub 16b molded centrally thereof. Rotatably disposed on thehub 16b is a U-shaped mounting element 18, the upstanding opposite arms18a and 18b of which extend through openings in the bottom wall 12 whichbounds the cylindrical housing opening 121). Each of the arms 18a, 181)has a notch 18c in the upper end thereof which accommodates a lateralshaft projection 10b on the neck 10a thus permitting pivotal or noddingmovement A in the head 10 about the imaginary horizontal axis of theshaft projections 1011. As is best appreciated from FIG. 2, this noddingmovement A is produced when a first depending actuating member 20, alsoextended through an appropriate opening in the bottom wall 12 isactuated through movement in a manner soon to be described. The noddingmovement A of the head 10 causes compression of a return spring 22:: ofa head return mechanism 22 so that after each such nodding movement thehead is automatically returned to an upright position as illustrated inFIG. 1.

As previously noted, the mounting element 18 for the head is rotatablymounted on the hub 16b and extends through openings in the wall 12having a sufficient radial extent to allow for a radial transverse ofthe element 18. That is, as best shown in FIG. 5, the bottom wall 12 hasa pair of oppositely disposed radial cut-outs 12g and 12h through whichextend the upstanding arms 18a and 18b. Thus, when the mounting element18 is actuated through rotative movement, the head 10 mounted on thiselement also partakes of this rotative movement about an imaginarylongitudinal axis through the center of the hub 16b. To this end, themounting element 18 is operatively associated with a second dependingactuating member 24 which, when actuated through movement rearwardly ofthe housing 12, is effective to cause rotative movement in the mountingelement 18. As is best understood by considering FIG. 6 in conjunctionwith FIG. 4, the second actuating member 24 has an L-shaped body mountedfor sliding movement on a pin 26 and further has a lateral leg 24a. Thesecond actuating member 24 also includes an upstanding pin 24b extendingthrough a slot 18d in the semicircular body 182 which connects the twoupstanding arms 18a and 18b. In this manner, movement of the actuatingmember 24 along the pin 26 results in the pin 24b urging the body 18cthrough rotative movement about the hub 16b and thus rotative movement Bin the head 10. This movement of the actuating member 24 is against theurgency of a return spring 28 disposed about the pin 26 and seated atone end against the member 24 and at its opposite end against a rearwall 16f of the internal housing 16 (see FIG. 2). Thus, after a rotativemovement B of the head and the release of the member 24, the returnspring 28 is effective to return the head 10 to its normal frontalorientation with respect to the housing 12, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

To better understand how the selection of either the first or the secondactuating members and 24 to produce the corresponding head movement A, Bis made on a random basis, attention is particularly directed to FIG. 3in conjunction with the previously noted figures. As shown in FIG. 3,the internal housing member 16 includes a forwardly extending slidecover portion 16g. Arranged for reciprocating movement on the medialportion of the housing base 14 and under the cover 16g is a T-shapedslide member 30 including an upstanding front wall 30a which, at amedial portion, has a transverse section 30b. Riveted, as at 32, onsection 30]; is a vibrating selector member 34 including an elongatedbody 34a fabricated of an appropriate springy metal and having rivetedon its free end, as at 36, a pointer 34b. As best shown in FIG. 3, thepoint of the pointer 34]) lies in the same vertical plane as the poointof a dividing wall 160 which separates the adjacently located first andsecond actuating members 20 and 24. In the starting position of theslide 30 as shown in FIG. 3, the pointer 34b is in a clearance positionfrom the first and second actuating members 20, 24. It is contemplated,however, that during an actuating stroke rearwardly of the housing 12,the slide 30 and thus the pointer 34b thereon will move from theclearance position of FIG. 3 into a position ultimately on one or theother side of the dividing wall 16c so that it either abuts against thefirst actuating member 20 or against the second actuating member 24. Theselection and actuation of one of the members 20, 24 through movement inturn produces one or the other of the head responsive movements A, B.

It is during the foregoing actuating stroke of the pointer 34b that theselector member 34 is set in vibration so that as it approaches thedividing wall 160 it will have a vibrated position either to one side orto the other side of the dividing wall 160, and continued movementthereof will produce the positioning resulting in actuation of one ofthe two actuating members 20, 24. To produce this vibration in theselector member 34, the pointer 3411 has inclined cam surfaces 34c,either one of which cooperates with a depending projection 38 located inthe path of movement of the pointer 34b. That is, the projection 38engages one cam surface 34 during the initial portion of the actuatingstroke and causes lateral movement of the pointer 34. Movement past theprojection 38, however, results in the release of the pointer 34 whichthen partakes of vibrating movement transverse to the direction of theactuating stroke. Typical vibrated positions of the pointer 3412 areillustrated in phantom perspective in FIG. 3.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it will be seen that the base 14 has atransverse molded ridge 14b against which the slide front Wall 38 isseated at its starting position. This starting position is immediatelyadjacent the front housing slot 12a which readily facilitates theintroduction of the card C through the slot 12a for urging the slide 30through its actuating stroke. The side walls of the front cover portion16g of the internal housing member 16 each has curved guide surfaces1611 to guide the forward end of the card C up against the front Wall30a. The actuating stroke of the slide 30 is against the urgency of areturn spring 40 attached at one end to an upstanding hook 14c on thebase 14 and at its other end to a depending hook 400 on the slide 30.The return spring 40 is thus effective, in an obvious manner, to urgethe slide 30 back to its starting position when the user of the dollshead 10 removes the eard C and releases the slide 30.

From the foregoing description it should be readily appreciated that theselection by the vibrating selector member 34 of one or the other of theactuating members 20 and 24 occurs strictly on a random basis since itdepends in turn on the randomly occurring vibrated position of theselector member 34 as it passes the dividing wall 16c. Thus, it will notbe possible to accurately predict the responsive head movement of thehead 10 Which greatly contributes to the play value of the movable head13.

A latitude of modification, change and substitution is intended in theforegoing disclosure, and in some instances some features of theinvention will be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the spirit and scopeof the invention herein.

What is claimed is:

1. A movable dolls head comprising a dolls head having a horizontal axisand a longitudinal axis, means mounting said dolls head for noddingmovement about said horizontal axis to signify an afiirmative responseand for rotative movement about said longitudinal axis to signify anegative response, first and second separate actuating means locatedadjacent each other operatively associated with said dolls head forrespectively actuating said dolls head through said nodding movement andsaid rotative movement, and a vibrating selector means operativelyarranged to have an actuating stroke selectively abutting against saidfirst and second actuating means whereby the selection of said first andsecond actuating means is randomly determined by the vibrated positionof said vibrating selector means.

2. A movable dolls head as defined in claim 1 wherein said vibratingselector means includes an elongated resilient member having a free endthereon adapted to have vibrating motion transverse to said actuatingstroke, the end limits of said vibrating motion alternately locatingsaid free end in position to abut one and then the other of said firstand second actuating means.

3. A movable dolls head as defined in claim 2 wherein said free end ofsaid resilient member includes a cam surface and said means mountingsaid dolls head includes a depending projection located in the path ofsaid actuating stroke of said selector means, said projectioncooperating with said cam surface to set said resilient member invibrating motion during said actuating stroke.

4. A movable dolls head as defined in claim 1 including a housingsupporting said dolls head disposed about said vibrating selector means,said housing having a front opening therein providing access to saidvibrating selector means for means adapted to be projected through saidopening incident to actuating said vibrating selector means through saidactuating stroke.

5. A movable dolls head comprising a dolls head having a horizontal axisand a longitudinal axis, a housing for said dolls head, mounting meansfor mounting said dolls head on said housing for nodding movement aboutsaid horizontal axis to signify an affirmative response and for rotativemovement about said longitudinal axis to signify a negative response,depending first and second separate actuating means located adjacenteach other within said housing for respectively actuating said dollshead through said nodding movement and said rotative movement, and aselector means movable within said housing through an actuating strokefrom a clearance position into selective abutment against said first andsecond actuating means, said selector means including an elongatedresilient member having a free end thereon adapted to have vibratingmotion transverse to said actuating stroke, the end limits of saidvibrating motion alternately locating said free end in position to abutone and then the other of said first and second actuating means, wherebythe selection of said first or second actuating means is randomlydetermined by the vibrated position of said resilient member.

6. A movable dolls head as defined in claim 5 wherein said free end ofsaid resilient member includes a cam surface and said housing has adepending projection located in the path of said actuating stroke ofsaid selector means, said projection cooperating with said cam surfaceto set said resilient member in vibrating motion during said actuatingstroke.

7. A movable dolls head as defined in claim 6 wherein said housing has afront opening therein providing access to said selector means for meansadapted to be projected through said front opening incident to actuatingsaid selector means through said actuating stroke.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,661,329 3/1928 Gale 273-1612,368,088 1/1945 Brewer 273161 3,362,103 1/1968 Neumann 273-156 ANTON O.OECHSLE, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 46-119; 273138

